iBook legacy comes to an end with white MacBook cancellation

Twelve years after the G3-sporting white iBook was introduced, its line has …

Today's Apple releases weren't all about new products: Apple has discontinued its spartan, entry-level plastic MacBook. With the MacBook Air selling so well, and starting at the same $999 price, Apple has apparently decided to scrap the MacBook entirely in favor of the tiny 11" laptop.

The white MacBook began life as the iBook, Apple's consumer-grade laptop introduced in 1999 that was the first Apple machine to come with WiFi wireless networking. The colorful laptop was revised in 2003 with an all-white polycarbonate shell, and Apple changed its name to MacBook in 2006 when it switched from PowerPC to Intel processors. The most recent MacBook design, last updated in 2009, featured a white unibody shell. Apple bumped the specs slightly over the last two years, but its ho-hum performance barely justified its $999 price tag.

The MacBook's demise came with little fanfare; Apple didn't mention it among the barrage of new hardware updates on Wednesday morning, simply redirecting the webpage for the MacBook on Apple's website to the top-level "Mac" page. Apple confirmed to Ars that it has been officially discontinued.

Though the MacBook was popular with students, primary and secondary schools, and quite a few consumers over the years, sales have likely dropped significantly over the last two years. Apple updated the 13" MacBook Pro several times since 2009, which is a significantly better machine starting at just $200 more. Even the entry-level 11" MacBook Air offers better performance, a sharper screen, and a much more compact and lightweight package for the same $999 price.